Vertical Farming Design Challenge

Is there a specific plant that must be used?

nightdrakon

Yes, we will be circulating information about what type of plants to grow as a part of the challenge to level the playing field.  The selected challengers will have to procure their own seeds locally (turns out seeds are harder to ship internationally than electronic components).

Also, am I right to assume that if our watering system were to run out of water, we can fill it?

Of course!  However, it would be good to have a method for monitoring the amount of water used throughout as data such as that will be a part of judging the winners at the end of the competition.

Of course!  However, it would be good to have a method for monitoring the amount of water used throughout as data such as that will be a part of judging the winners at the end of the competition.

Do we have to measure the water used with a machine like a weight, or just remember and write down how much we put in.

Hi Joshua,

If you choose to do this automatically then there are some interesting electronic methods which are possible too - e.g. optical methods, electrical conductivity, foam float with magnetic sensor, and so on. Another option would be to alert when the water level is dangerously (for the plants etc) low - i.e. just a high/low indication possibly, rather than a more granular measurement.

The point of these competitions, at least in part, is to inspire creative thinking. There is no correct answer to your question, only suggestions. You are posting in an electrical engineering related forum so I would assume an electronic solution would earn you a higher score vs simply writing it down. However, that does not neccasarly mean you have to automate the process. Manual data collection through a creative electronic version of 'pen & paper', in theory, would net you a higher score. You can build a simple data collection device, manual inputs via PB or a num-pad. Store the data on an EEPROM and export to excel/ or vice versa. Write down your measurements in excel and send the variables to the ucontroller, you can write a control system that responds to the stimulus.

Alternatively you can measure and record water level in realtime if you use the right tech. You have options, from simple --> complex.

examples: ( I can elaborate if requested)

Water is conductive, so if you use two nails; one @ the top of the tank and one @ the bottom, a little electronic magic and poof! Cheap low water alert. I used this method to monitor mixing tanks/PLC

But the nail method is not a great solution as you wont be collecting very much data beyond "low" "not low" For more advanced measure... you can use more contact points (more nails) or... smarter sensors!

Before you 'figure-out' what sensor to use, define your objective.

What are you trying to measure? 

Are there material related restrictions?

Precision?

....

example:

Objective:

We want to measure the water level in a large tank with reasonable precision. The measurement should be in real time with multiple data samples over 1 min. Lets also assume we are farming fish, thus no metal in the water.

SO..

No metal = we cant use the nail trick... We could use a float, the float can have an internal magnet read by a hall effect sensor. A hall effect sensor is going to out-put an analog voltage that corresponds to magnetic field intensity. Although it's a valid method for measuring position, we can do better in the accuracy department.

Another option is to use the float but instead of a hall effect sensor we can connect the float to an encoder. The encoder is has greater accuracy then the hall effect but who knows whats in the cheap plastic floats, don't want to hurt the fish.

Yet another option... IR, simple IR diode circuit (reflector/emitter). Float a reflective disc and point the IR @ the disc. The IR method has good accuracy and a smaller footprint in the water, which reduces the risk of contamination, but the disc is still a source of contamination. So lets go with a non-contact Ultrasonic Sensor

PING the water like a dolphin and never get wet! Score!

Just remember to weigh the negatives of each option. Some designs may suffer from poor precision, limitations in relation to distance, drift, interface, speed, and don't forget to pay-attention to stuff like temperature/humidity degradation. After-all how much use is a sensor if you don't trust the values.

Hope this helps, .. I'm trying to put together my project proposal as this contest is right up my alley. I married a biologist who works at the local college. I have done a lot of pond/greenhouse/habitat building and I already have a team of students and community support. (by the way, even if we compete against each-other, I will still offer assistance/advice.

Sorry about all the questions, but I was just finishing the specifications as I was looking through my design, and was wondering:

How big does it have to be?

Is it meant to be outside or inside?

If inside should we use inside lamps or can we use solar energy?

I would really appreciate it if someone could help explain these to me. Thanks.

Hi Joshua,

An indoors solution is a mandatory requirement because it is specifically mentioned in the blog post. The other things that you mentioned (i.e. size, lighting) are open to you to design and implement as you see fit. You also want to make best use of the hardware from the kit list.

Questions are a good thing! They inspire thought and conversation. Never be sorry you asked a question, and never feel stupid for asking a question that is considered 'basic'. I ask basic questions all the time, mostly because I do so many different things, I can't remember everything.

As far as the rules on this design, as I understand the instruction:

1) Vertical Garden Build - really that just means you should be able to grow more food then the Horizontal shape who'll do allow if using triditional farming technique. Example: I have a small plot of land on the side of my house I use  for farming. If I plant pumpkins I can fit 4 pumpkin plants on the small plot. But if I can come up with a method to grow in the unsued vertical space, I can double my yield and plant 4 pumpkins on the bottom, and 4 pumpkins on the top. All while utilizing the same amount of vertical space. Size is not a requirement as Scale was never defined.

2)Inside, I know it's a frustrating requirement... I live in Southern California and can grow outside year round. Certainly the full spectrum the sun offers would produce better crops then any light I can afford. You just have to take it with a grain of salt. That rule is intended to level the playing field in an attempt to reduce environmentl variables. A better option though would be to select regionally appropriate plants. If I'm growing beans and your growing corn, we don't care that your corn is bigger then my crops. If my yields are above average for beans in my region, succes!

3) the rules didn't say you even had to use light. I would assume as long as your plant in indoors your good. in theory you could have a retractable roof that automatically opens. (better check with the wife before I start cutting holes)

~forgive my errors, I'm typing on an iPad. Apple nailed social manipulation but forgot to design an auto spell checker that doesn't suck.

Okay, now I'm slightly confused. If it's inside, why do we need to monitor temperature, humidity, ambient light, and output power? For the temperature and humidity, can't I just turn on the AC and then it doesn't matter anymore. If I can't just turn on the AC, then why is it inside? Also with ambient light, can't I just turn on and off a light? I guess for this one I could actually set something like that up, but still why do especially temperature and humidity measurement have to be made, except just for show? I understand the output power and ambient light maybe being used for judging. But temperature?

Hi Joshua,

It is still possible to create temperature zones with indoor solutions (e.g. in an enclosure, or a zip tent). You might or might not want to do that, depending on what you're growing.

Even if you don't, the temperature and humidity is still extremely important to know, because this could be critical to repeating your success. If you know what temperature and

humidity worked for you, others will want to know this too if the data was shared. People could compare your growth rate vs temperature and humidity, look for correlations with their data,

or immediately determine that they have little chance of successfully growing the same plants if they know your data and they know their own local environment temperature and

humidity conditions.

In theory you can turn on the home lighting, but it may not be as effective/optimal compared to dedicated lighting - and you might want to experiment with colors, to see what causes your

plants to grow better.

Ahhh... Okay. Thank you. When you say compare growth rate, does that mean we have to electronically measure height as well? Or can we resort to good old fashioned rulers?